The Law of Lookouts
By Marilyn Raia
M
any have said the most
important of the navi-
gation rules is Rule 5,
which requires every vessel to have
a lookout:
Every vessel shall at all times
maintain a proper lookout by sight
and hearing as well as by all available
means appropriate in the prevailing
circumstances and conditions so as to
make a full appraisal of the situation
and the risk of collision.
The navigation rules, and in par-
ticular Rule 5, were designed specifi-
cally to prevent vessel collisions and
allisions with stationary objects such
as piers, bridges or obstructions to
navigation.
The Lookout’s Duties
A lookout is considered the eyes and
ears of the vessel. As such, the lookout
must have good vision and hearing and
be trained and experienced enough to
recognize what is being observed and
heard. The slightest negligence by the
lookout can result in loss of the vessel
on which he is stationed as well as the
property and persons aboard. It can
also result in the loss of other vessels,
property and persons.
The lookout’s view should be unob-
structed. Smoke or fog impairing the
lookout’s vision should be reported to
the navigating officer. The lookout must
know the significance of whistles, bells,
lights and shapes under the prevailing
conditions and be able to determine
whether a vessel he observes is mov-
ing or not. The lookout must watch for
overhead obstructions such as power
lines in addition to obstructions in the
water. The lookout must be able to
adequately and timely communicate
what is observed to those persons
navigating the vessel but does not have
any obligation to speculate about the
likelihood of a collision or how vessels
will move in relation to each other.
It has been said the law requires the
lookout to engage in “indefatigable
care and sleepless vigilance” because
the lookout is charged with knowledge
of all that can be seen and heard.
The International Rules of the Road
adopted by Congress in the 1950’s
12 Pacific Maritime • July 2009 • www.pacmar.com
addressed the need for a lookout in
negative language:
Nothing in these Rules shall exon-
erate any vessel, or the owner, master
or crew thereof from the consequences
of …any neglect to keep a proper
look-out….
The International Rules of the
Road were amended in the 1970’s
and the obligation to have a lookout
was stated in positive language, i.e.
“every vessel shall maintain a proper
lookout….” Moreover, the amended
version of the lookout rule imposed an
additional duty on the lookout, namely,
“to use all available means appropriate
in the prevailing circumstances and
conditions.” The required “available
means” have been construed by the
courts to sometimes include the use
of radar and/or binoculars.
The Lookout’s Position
on the Vessel
While the navigation rules them-
selves do not specify where the lookout
should be stationed aboard the vessel,
industry custom and case law require
the lookout to be posted as far forward
and as near the water as possible.
However, the configuration of the
vessel and the surrounding conditions
may dictate otherwise. For example, a
lookout on a vessel with an upper and
lower wheelhouse may, under certain
conditions, have a better vantage point
from the upper wheelhouse. And, a
vessel that is backing or maneuvering
may be held negligent by not having a
lookout posted at the stern. A tug towing
a barge or other vessel is not required
to have a lookout at the stern constantly
watching the tow if the weather is fair,
the seas are calm and there is no reason
to anticipate a perilous condition to
develop. However, the failure to post
a lookout on a tug to watch a vessel
under tow may be negligent under other
circumstances. Moreover, depending
on the configuration of the tug and tow,
negligence may be found when there
is no lookout on the towed vessel in
addition to a lookout on the tug.
A tug assisting a ship to dock does
not have a duty to post a lookout for
the ship to prevent it from hitting the
dock or to warn if the vessel’s speed
when approaching the dock is exces-
sive. Nonetheless, the tug operator has
a duty to post a lookout for the tug’s
own safety.
Certain circumstances may dictate
the posting of more than one lookout
on a vessel. Heavy weather, fog, dark-
ness, a crowded channel or the vessel’s
general arrangement may require a
lookout on each side of the bow as
well as in the wheelhouse. Multiple
lookouts may also be required when a
vessel passes under a bridge or a series
of bridges with a narrow clearance. In
such situation, the standard of prudent
seamanship likely will require various
crewmembers to be stationed around
the vessel observing the passage.
The Consequences
of Violating the Lookout Rule
The failure to post a lookout and
use all available means to determine
if a risk of collision exists may lead
to a presumption of fault under the
Pennsylvania rule, derived from an 1873
US Supreme Court case, The Penn-
sylvania, 86 U.S. 125 (1873). Under
that rule, when a vessel in a collision is
found to have violated a statutory rule
designed to prevent collisions, such as
the navigation rule requiring a lookout,
a presumption of fault is raised. The
violator must then prove by clear and
convincing evidence the violation did
not and could not have played a role
in the casualty. There must be a causal
connection between the violation and
the casualty.
The failure to observe a properly lit
vessel or a marked hazard to naviga-
tion resulting in a casualty is a clear
violation of the lookout rule, resulting
in a presumption of fault that would be
difficult if not impossible to overcome.
In Yaeger v. the Alten, 167 F. Supp.
617 (D. Or. 1958), two fishing vessels
collided in the Pacific Ocean west of
Waldport, Oregon. The master of one
of the vessels, the Breezy Bill, ordered
the running lights to be turned off, but
left a 360º white arc light showing on
the mast, 25 feet above the waterline.
He and the crewman then went below
to sleep. The other vessel, the Alten,
was being navigated by auto pilot with
a crewman who had only three months
 M a r i t i m e L a w

experience at sea, acting as lookout.
For fifteen minutes before the colli-
sion, the crewman observed the mast
light on the Breezy Bill but believed
it to be the mast light for the Yaquina
lighthouse which was located twenty
miles away from the point of collision.
The court found both vessels at fault,
the Alten’s fault being premised on the
lookout’s having mistaken a steady 360º
white arc mast light for the lighthouse’s
flashing mast light.
Failure to have a lookout can also
serve as the basis for a vessel owner’s
liability to a crewmember for personal
injuries proximately caused by such
violation.
Liability for Violation of the
Lookout Rule May Be Avoided
The absence or insufficiency of a
lookout does not always lead to the
imposition of liability. The presump-
tion of fault can be rebutted. A court
will consider the circumstances and
the customary practice of seamen in
making such determination. Whether
a lookout was present is irrelevant
to liability when the presence of a
lookout would not have prevented the
casualty. In Texas Eastern Transmis-
sion Corp. v. Tug Captain Dann, 898
F. Supp. 198 (S.D.N.Y. 1995) a barge
under tow struck an exposed under-
water gas pipeline. The court held the
tug’s failure to post a lookout was not
negligence because a lookout could
not have seen the exposed underwater
pipeline at night.
In Trinidad Corporation v. S.S.
Keiyoh Maru, 845 F.2d 818 (9th
Cir. 1988), two vessels collided just
outside the port of Los Angeles. The
Keiyoh Maru crossed into a restricted
pilot boarding area and struck the
bow of the Fort Worth just inside the
restricted area. The Fort Worth was
not using radar or a lookout to track
the movements of other vessels in the
area and consequently was unable to
avoid the Keiyoh Maru. The court of
appeals affirmed the district court’s
ruling that although the Fort Worth had
violated the rule requiring a lookout,
such violation did not play a role in
the casualty because a lookout on the
Fort Worth could not have anticipated
the Keiyoh Maru would not respect the
restricted areas.
The presumption of fault resulting
from the failure to post a lookout may
also be rebutted when the vessel with
no lookout was the privileged vessel
and maintained her course and speed as
required under the navigation rules.
The importance of a lookout aboard
a vessel in navigation cannot be over-
stated. The lookout, or multiple look-
outs if the situation requires, must be
positioned on the vessel to maximize
vision and hearing. The lookout must
be able to discern the significance of
what is heard and observed and report
it to the navigating officer. An incom-
petent, inadequate or absent lookout
is a violation of the navigation rules
and raises a rebuttable presumption
of fault.
Marilyn Raia is of counsel in the San
Francisco office of Bullivant Houser
Bailey PC where she practices maritime
and transportation law.

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